NEW YORK, NY—(January 28, 2026)—CNN closes out the first month of 2026 seeing strong audience interest across platforms coming to CNN for an immense amount of U.S. and international breaking news. With strong audience growth and engagement across TV, digital and streaming platforms, CNN delivered its best TV Total Day and Primetime performance among both demos since the 2024 presidential election. January also saw a significant boost in new subscribers coming for news and an array of programming. CNN ended the year exceeding its subscription goals for 2025 and is off to a strong start in 2026.
On television in the U.S., CNN ranked as a top 5 cable network in Total Day among P2+ for 13 consecutive months and ranked as a top 3 network among P25-54. In Weekday Primetime, CNN also ranked in the top 5 among both demos, ranking in the top 10 among P2+ for 13 consecutive months.
In a month dominated by breaking news, CNN was among the most watched networks on television during key breaking news events, beginning chronologically with coverage of the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which drove CNN’s best weekend daytime viewership among both demos since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War in early 2022 (1/3/26). CNN was also a top cable network on the Saturday (1/3/26) when it was announced the U.S. military captured President Maduro and his wife.
The U.S. intervention in Venezuela also was the top digital storyline in January for total time spent. The two most read digital articles for the month focused on this topic and the live story, a text feature that updates with the latest developments during breaking news moments, on Maduro being in U.S. custody was the most engaged live story for January. In addition, Saturday 1/7 was CNN’s highest digital weekend day of 2026 for audience reach and live stream viewership.
As the news turned to Minnesota, coverage of the Minneapolis ICE shooting (1/7/25; Prime 7p-11p) was the network’s best performance among both P2+ and P25-54 since election night on 11/4/25 (excluding New Year’s Eve). CNN’s on the ground coverage of the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota (1/8) in the 9a hour ranked #1 in all of cable among P25-54. This was the hour’s best performance among P25-54 since the day after the 2024 presidential election (11/6/24). CNN’s coverage of the Jan. 24 Minneapolis shooting was the second-highest day of 2026 among total viewers so far (Mon-Sun, not just weekends), behind only the day of Maduro’s capture. Further, CNN ranked #2 in all of cable for the day among total viewers.
In addition, the breaking news moments out of Minneapolis was the second most engaged digital storyline in January. The top five most viewed digital videos in January were all on the various happenings out of Minneapolis, and three of the top five most engaged with live stories were on this topic. Additionally, CNN saw its second-highest digital weekend day (1/24) of 2026 for total audience reach and live stream viewership.
Compared to January 2025 (which included the Presidential Inauguration), CNN saw double-digit year-over-year growth across all dayparts and shows and overall was up 22% among P2+ and 23% among P25-54. This includes a +63% increase among P25-54 and +53% among P2+ in Weekend Total Day, +27% among P25-54 and +16% among P2+ in Weekday Morning; and +16% among P25-54 and +27% among P2+ in Primetime. Further, CNN nearly doubled its primetime audience among the key demo compared to December 2025.
CNN rang in the New Year with its annual New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. The live celebration from New York City’s Times Square generated the single highest number of new subscriptions to CNN since the debut of a subscription offering and delivered its second-best TV performance since CNN began airing the annual special in 2007, behind only historic 2020 audience levels.
Moreover, CNN continued to excel and delivered strong digital engagement in January with the first week of the month marking the highest total time spent since the week after Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the highest video time spent since the 2024 Presidential election. The recently launched All Access subscription product proved to be a compelling destination for audiences as they navigated a heavy breaking news cycle. Live‑streaming demand is surging, with the first four weeks of 2026 ranking as the four biggest weeks for time spent streaming live video on CNN platforms since Election 2024, driven by the aforementioned major breaking news events from Venezuela and Minneapolis.
Additionally, January’s average daily time spent on digital is pacing ahead of every month in 2025, and intentional video behaviors—starts and video time spent—reached their highest levels since January 2025. CNN Podcasts also continued its strong momentum into January, with powerful new episodes of All There Is with Anderson Cooper, Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, crucial news updates from CNN 5 Things, and more, delivering over 9 million downloads and streams year to date.
As CNN continues to dive deeper in feature reporting, subscriber-only stories are resonating with audiences. This feature on oil in Venezuela was the most read subscriber-only story for the month, followed by these two features on habits to transform your health in 2026 and how the global party scene is moving away from alcohol.
Beyond core news, CNN also attracted wider audiences with the premiere of CNN Films’ I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not (1/1/26, 8p-10p) which delivered 906k among total viewers and ranked #3 in all of cable. Overall, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not reached 5.7 million total viewers across 3 telecasts (1 premiere and 2 replays).
TV Source: The Nielsen Company Big Data + Panel data as of Sep-25; Panel Only prior to Sep-25. Based on Live+7 blended with most current data, including Out of Home Viewing. Breaking News Data based on Live+Same Day. P2+ & P25-54 (000s). Nielsen Month of January: 12/29/25 – 1/25/26. Adult Swim and Nick-at-Nite Excluded from Total Day All of Cable Due to Only Airing in Prime Hours. 1/24/26 second highest day on CNN claim based on 2026 calendar year.
Digital Source: Adobe Analytics
Podcast Source: Megaphone
